Mar 5-6 President Zia is kept out of All Parties
Conference convened by PM Junejo to solicit support for Pakistan government's
stance on the Afghan issue; Benazir Bhutto and other top leaders are among
the invitees

Apr 12 PM Junejo sets up two-member commission headed
by Lt General Imranullah Khan to probe into Ohjri Camp disaster; report
to be submitted within 10 days

April 10 Ojhri Camp
military depot, Rawalpindi, explodes resulting in widespread destruction.
The missiles and projectiles that rain down on the twin cities as a result
of the detonation leave 30 dead, officials say, but independent estimates
claim the figure is much higher. Prominent among those killed is Khaqan
Abbasi, MNA from Murree.

Junejo out

May 29 Zia dismisses Junejo under article 58-2(b)
of the 8th Amendment on charges of corruption, inefficiency and procrastination;
no caretaker PM installed Zia dismisses Junejo under article 58-2(b) of
the 8th Amendment on charges of corruption, inefficiency and procrastination;
no caretaker PM installed

It is strongly suspected that Prime Minister Junejo has
been sacked not because of his failure to enforce Islam, as claimed by
General Zia, but due to a rift between the two over the Ojhri Camp investigations.
The dismissed PM had promised to make the findings public, and seemed
inclined towards acting against the military personnel responsible for
the mishap.

A commemorative poster.

Death of a dictator

August 17 General Ziaul Haq, after 11 years of absolute
power, is killed in a mid-air explosion near Bahawalpur. The army's top
brass, including ISI chief General Akhtar Abdur Rehman, is virtually eliminated
with the exception of General Aslam Beg. US Ambassador Raphael was also
on board the ill-fated C-130. Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Chairman Senate, takes
over as President of Pakistan and General Aslam Beg, meanwhile, assumes
charge as new Chief of Army Staff.

While the international media generally refers to the incident
as the death of a dictator, and the followers of the Pakistan People's
Party were seen distributing sweets soon after the announcement, there
still are multitudes among the common people who mourn the man who ruled
their country for 11 years.

People's power

December 2 After a strong showing by the PPP at the
first party-based polls since 1977, Benazir Bhutto is finally sworn in
as prime minister, becoming the first woman head of government in the
Muslim world.But there were two bitter pills to swallow: her party had
fallen short of an absolute majority, forcing the PPP to woo both MQM
and the ANP, and the Punjab had been stolen from under her nose by the
IJI. In her first address to the nation, she lifted Zia's ban on student
and trade unions activity.

The new President

December 13 Ghulam Ishaq Khan takes oath as president

Sindh succumbs to violence

Following the Hyderabad massacre, violence has erupted on
ethnic lines throughout the province. 78 were killed in Karachi alone
on October 1, and the news from the interior is also alarming. The government,
for its part, has set up tribunal headed by Justice Abdur Rehman of the
Hyderabad High Court to probe into the killings, but nobody really expects
the findings to be made public.

SAARC Summit

December 29-31 Pakistan, India sign 3 bilateral agreements
during 4th SAARC Summit in Islamabad, including a pledge not to attack
each other's nuclear installations; Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi addresses a
joint presse conference with Benazir Bhutto.

Seoul
Olympics

Mohammad Husain Shah secures sole Pakistani medal at the
Seoul Olympics with a bronze in boxing.

PTV Glasnost

Under Aslam Azhar and Javed Jabbar, PTV policy undergoes
radical change with a plethora of political plays, a barrage of anti-Zia
propaganda and substantial coverage of opposition leaders. Dramas abound
with anti-martial law tales such as those narrated in Neelay Haath, a
serial based on a street play by the Ajoka theatre group, and Sarmad Sehbai's
Bachon ka Park, a hard-hitting indictment of the Zia regime.